All articles by Angus Peters – Page 26
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News
Concerns over Lisa mis-selling remain as consultation closes
The Financial Conduct Authority’s consultation on rules for selling lifetime Isas will close on Wednesday, amid continued industry concern that the draft regulation will not do enough to stop inappropriate choice of products.
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News
How to choose a professional trustee for your scheme
Any other business: A regulatory burden that has proved too much even for some professional trustees and a challenging investment environment mean running a scheme has arguably never been harder. So should schemes appoint professional trustees, and what qualities do they need to look for?
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News
Increase caps add to rules lottery amid inflation spike
The consumer price index spiked by almost half a per cent in the year to December 2016, narrowing the ‘rules lottery’ gap between the official inflation measure and the retail price index.
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News
Cost scrutiny intensifies as TTF calls for select committee inquiry
The Work and Pensions Select Committee has been asked to launch a fresh inquiry into charges levied on pension savings, as campaigners warned price inefficiencies reach far beyond investment costs.
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FeaturesTelegraph welcomes smart beta addition to TDFs
Telegraph Media Group has welcomed the downside protection brought in by the addition of smart beta to its default defined contribution target date funds, despite concerns over hidden dangers within the investment style.
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FeaturesBabcock takes member comms online to boost efficiency
The Babcock International Group Pension Scheme is moving its communications online in an attempt to cut costs, boost efficiency and better reflect the preferences of members.
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News
Berkshire saves 600 hours with automated data exchange
The Royal County of Berkshire Pension Fund saved an estimated 604.1 hours of administrative work over six months, and ended its struggles with updating member data by introducing an automated data exchange.
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NewsRoyal Mail closure consultation could see strike action
Royal Mail Group has begun consulting with active members on closing its section of the Royal Mail Pension Plan, spurring the threat of industrial action from unions if the sponsor does not react positively to their concerns.
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News
DB outlook 2017: Investment problems remain as deficits dip
Defined benefit deficits worsened during December to an aggregate IAS 19 deficit of £434bn, as experts added sustained low interest rates and cash flow problems to their concerns for pension funds over the course of 2017.
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Opinion
Is good pensions practice drowning in policy consultations?
From the blog: The run up to Christmas saw a flurry of political activity to cap off what has been an exhausting year, with two separate Department for Work and Pensions consultation launches complemented by the Work and Pensions Select Committee’s report on defined benefit.
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News
Select committee: Scare negligent employers into funding with 'nuclear' fines
The Work and Pensions Select Committee has called for “nuclear deterrent” fines – tripling the amount currently payable – to be levied against employers seen to be shirking pension responsibilities, in its report into defined benefit pensions.
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News
Discrimination, indexation and tax relief's survival: Top law and regulation stories from 2016
Year in review: As if Brexit didn’t pose enough challenges, regulators, lawyers and two successive pensions ministers have had a lot on their plate in 2016.
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News
2017 AE review will ignore adequacy but include charge cap
The Department for Work and Pensions has announced the scope of its 2017 review of auto-enrolment, including a reconsideration of the charge cap on defined contribution default funds.
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NewsBSPS nears compromise deal as Tata announces closure plan
Tata Steel UK is to consult with employees on closing the British Steel Pension Scheme to future accrual, as part of an agreement with trade unions aimed at safeguarding the future of its UK steelworks.
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NewsIBM revises cash commutation factors
The IBM Pension Trust has updated its cash commutation factors, offering transferring members across its schemes higher lump sums when exchanging part of their defined benefit entitlements.
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News
Cold-calling ban could strengthen scheme powers to block transfers
The government has launched its consultation on pension scams, proposing bans on pension-related cold calls, limits on the statutory right to transfer and tighter regulations for setting up potentially fraudulent schemes.
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News
Ownership or nudge? How to make auto-escalation work
The pensions industry and government must instil a sense of “personal ownership” over pensions in currently underprepared members if auto-enrolment is to achieve its aims, pensions minister Richard Harrington has said.
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FeaturesABF and Pie to shore up Severn Trent against deficit plunge
The Severn Trent Pension Scheme has agreed a new asset-backed funding strategy with its sponsor, following a year which saw its accounting deficit more than double despite derisking measures.
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Opinion
Can global DB experience help the UK out of crisis?
UK pensions, we are often told, are in crisis. Sustained downward pressure on yields have widened scheme deficits over the year, with the prospect of higher inflation just another concern to add to trustees’ agendas.
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News
Increased contributions vital to continue AE success story
The real tests of auto-enrolment are still to come, one of the architects of the initiative has warned, as an adequacy report found many defined contribution-reliant members of Generation X are already beyond auto-enrolment’s help.